Decapitated, floating in a cage and ‘left for dead’: XL bully cruelty reports surge since ban
Reports of intentional harm to XL bullies have soared since the breed was banned, with the RSPCA saying some have been “left for dead” in rivers and parks.
XL bullies were outlawed in England and Wales at the start of the year after attacks in which people died or were injured.
Since then, the dogs have been abandoned, neglected and even killed, according to the animal charity.
It said the body and head of a decapitated XL bully-type dog were found in a shallow grave in Evesham, Worcestershire, last month.
And last week, one dog with blood on its nose and around its mouth was found abandoned and tied up in a field in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.
The charity’s welfare officer, Jess Barron, said they fear the dog was “left for dead”.
Tens of thousands of XL bully-type dogs were exempted by their owners and are now living under strict rules such as always requiring a lead, muzzle in public and being neutered.
The dog abandoned in Hitchin had blood on its nose and mouth. Pic: RSPCA
The RSPCA said that in the first eight months of this year it received 103 reports of intentional harm to XL bullies.
That’s an increase of 164% on the 39 in the same period in 2023.
There was also a 692% increase in reports of XL bullies being abandoned – 103 compared with 13 last year.
Reports of neglect also increased substantially, with 366 this year – up from 108 in 2023 before the ban took effect.
Recent incidents include:
• A dead XL bully with head injuries in a Middlesbrough park in June;
• A cage carrying a dead XL bully floating in a Birmingham canal, also in June;
• An XL bully puppy dead in a cage in Bexleyheath in January, with blunt force trauma to the head;
• Also in January, one of the dogs was found dead in a south London alleyway with a fractured skull
‘Increasingly demonised’
Dr Samantha Gaines, the RSPCA’s lead on breed-specific legislation, described the figures as “very concerning”.
“We’ve seen an increase generally in reports of serious abuse to animals – particularly intentional harm and beatings – but the increase in reports relating specifically to XL bully-types is very alarming and we fear this is a direct result of the recent UK government ban on this type of dog,” she said.
Pic: iStock
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“This could be a result of the extra pressures this ban has placed on desperate owners who may already be struggling to care for their dogs during this cost of living crisis,” Dr Gaines added.
“But even worse, these could be deliberate acts of cruelty towards dogs who have become increasingly demonised in recent months.
“We’re also heartbroken that many dogs have been and will be put to sleep simply because they are considered to be dangerous because they look a certain way.”
Birmingham band UB40 say the city’s striking bin workers and their union should “keep fighting” in their dispute over pay.
It comes as the government and the council urged them to accept a “fair and reasonable offer”.
“We’re fully on their side,” drummer Jimmy Brown told Sky News. “I think they shouldn’t give up, they should still be fighting.
“Working people shouldn’t have to take a reduction in their incomes, which is what we’re talking about here.
“We’re talking about people being paid less and it seems to me with prices going up, heating, buying food, inflation and rents going up then people need a decent wage to have a half decent life… keep going boys!”
Members of the Unite union in Birmingham earlier this month. Pic: PA
Workers joined picket lines again on Thursday, with some fearing they could be up to £600 a month worse off if they accept the terms.
“We have total utter support for the bin men and all trade unions,” said guitarist Robin Campbell.
“The other side is always going to say they’ve made a reasonable offer – the point is they’re the ones who’ve messed up, they’re the ones who’ve gone bankrupt, they’re the ones now trying to reduce the bin men’s wages.”
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Lead singer Matt Doyle told Sky News: “It’s a shame that what we’re seeing is all the images of rats and rubbish building up, that is going to happen inevitably, but we’ve just got to keep fighting through that.”
About 22,000 tonnes of rubbish accumulated on the city’s streets after a major incident was declared last month by Birmingham City Council.
Rubbish has blighted the city’s streets for weeks . Pic: PA
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Bin situation ‘pains me’ – council boss
On a visit to the city, local government minister Jim McMahon said the union and local authority should continue to meet in “good faith” and the government felt there was a deal that could be “marshalled around”.
He paid tribute to the “hundreds of workers” who have worked “around the clock” to clear the rubbish.
Read more:
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“As we stand here today, 85% of that accumulated waste has been cleared and the council have a plan in place now to make sure it doesn’t accumulate going forward,” said Mr McMahon.
Sky News understands talks are not set to resume until next week.
Trans women in British Transport Police custody will now be strip searched by male officers – not female – following Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling.
The force said it is introducing an “interim position” while it digests the Supreme Court’s decision that the definition of a “woman” under the Equality Act 2010 refers to “a biological woman and biological sex”.
A British Transport Police (BTP) Authority spokesman told Sky News: “Under previous policy, we had advised that someone with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) may be searched in accordance with their acquired sex.
“However, as an interim position while we digest today’s judgment, we have advised our officers that any same sex searches in custody are to be undertaken in accordance with the biological birth sex of the detainee.”
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In September last year, BTP, which is responsible for policing the UK’s railways and similar transport systems, published its “position” on transgender and non-binary officers carrying out strip searches.
It said officers would “only be able to search persons of the same sex on their birth or gender recognition certificate (GRC).
Officers who identified as another gender but who did not have a GRC were not allowed to, but if a trans woman had a certificate, they could strip search a female detainee.
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Gender ruling – How it happened
Strip searches involve the removal of more than a jacket, outer coat, gloves, headwear and footwear.
They “expose buttocks, genitalia and (female) breasts”, the BTP guidance says.
The Sex Matters campaign applied for a judicial review of that guidance with the High Court in December.
It said the policy “puts detainees at risk of sexual harassment and sexual assault”, and said it was a violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.
Sex Matters said the policy “also puts female officers in a humiliating and dangerous position, as they may be pressured to search trans-identified men”.
Read more: NHS must stop trans people being allowed on single-sex wars
Campaigners celebrated outside the Supreme Court after Wednesday’s ruling. Pic: PA
One of the High Court judges who made Wednesday’s decision, Lord Hodge, said the ruling should not be read as “a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another”.
Government minister Karin Smyth told Sky News public bodies have been told to look at how equality laws are implemented following the ruling.
She said: “Obviously, public bodies have been asked to look at their own guidance.
“And we will do that very, very carefully.”
But she warned against public bodies making statements “that may alarm people”, telling them to take their time to look at their guidance.
Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chair of the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), said the ruling means there is “no confusion” now.
She said the NHS will “have to change” its 2019 policy, which says transgender patients are entitled to be accommodated on single-sex wards matching how they identify.
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